


Just trust me

by charons_boat



Series: Curses Upon the Innocent [6]
Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Acquaintances To Enemies, Amusement, Awkwardness, Bathing, Blushing, Cave, Cleverness, Coconuts, Confusion, Contemplation, Contract, Curiosity, Curses, Desert, Discovery, Egypt, Excessive Thirst, Fear, Flowers, Foreigner, Golden Crown, Hatred, I Tried, I enjoyed the describing part, I just wanted to use kohl lol, I'm obsessed with braided metal so, Injury, Intelligence - Freeform, Kohl, M/M, Magic, Monsters, Moon, Moving In Together, Name giving, Names, Nicknames, Night, Oasis, Pain, Reflection, Regret, Riddles, S A N D, Sphinx!Chanhee, Strangers to Acquaintances, Strangers to Friends, Strangers to Lovers, Strangers to enemies, Swimming, Titles, White Lion - Freeform, Wisdom, Witch!Kevin, changes in thinking, chanhee is kinda naked for a while, contract breaking - Freeform, contract mark, cryptic speaking, developed hatred of solitude, disbelief, excessive luxuriating, excessive pain, first try at a real conversation, foreign visitor, fruit juice, guarding, haha - Freeform, haha references to real life stuff, he's kind of an expert in that, hybrid!Chanhee, if you think about it a bit, it's all very funny really, it's better than water, kevin causes pain, kevin has a sunburn, learning, long journey, lots of different titles/names, mentions of other sphinxes, mythical creatures, palm trees, perspective change, riddle is a relative term, sand, significant size change, sly character, sneaky boi, sorry if it's not an accurate description, teleporting, that's kinda never mentioned again I'm sorry, the circlet is braided gold, thirst, treasure, white lion Sphinx, wish for comfort, witch!changmin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22850458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charons_boat/pseuds/charons_boat
Summary: For centuries upon a millennia, a pale Sphinx like a white lion had stood guard over treasure buried deep in a cave. There was a perfect oasis waiting out front of the cave, filled to the brim with cool water and blooming flowers, lined with swaying palms.No one had ever solved his riddles. No one had ever bested him. No had left alive, not if they challenged him first.
Relationships: Choi Chanhee | New & Moon Hyungseo | Kevin, Choi Chanhee | New/Ji Changmin | Q
Series: Curses Upon the Innocent [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542079
Comments: 20
Kudos: 37





	1. Why can't we start this?

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S A NON TXT ONE!! The first of many god I have so many plans I just need to actually write them lmao. I hope you enjoy this!!
> 
> Thanks alexis for giving me Chanhee's curse!! It's very cruel and fits very well so!! Yay :DD love ur Big sexc galaxy brain

Egypt was a land of heat, a land of loose sand and stiff breezes. The skies were a clear, almost painful blue, the kind that always accompanies a scorching hot day. The kind of blue that burned the eyes to look upon as harshly as the sun would. All sought out the waters of the Nile, of the rare emerald-ringed pools that dotted the parched land, searching desperately for respite from the overbearing heat. Many a lost soul collapsed in the dunes, chasing after the mirage of an oasis in the deserts, chasing after the promise of something that was never truly there.

Egypt was a land of pharaohs, absolute rulers descended from the gods. It was a land of horrific beasts that terrorized the people, that lay open flesh to the searing sun and gritty wind. Later on, people looked back and wondered if the Egyptian beasts were not mirages like the oasis often was.

Among the terrible beasts of Egypt was one said to contain great wisdom. It was said none could match the intelligence of the Sphinx, and none could outsmart one of the lion-haunched monsters. The sphinxes of Egypt guarded great treasures, presenting riddles to challengers and devouring all who failed.

Living in Egypt was a rather young sphinx, one with the body of a white lion. He was considered very beautiful among all who had seen him and survived. His domain was an oasis deep in the desert, and more importantly, the treasure-filled cave nestled among waving palms and lush greens.

The Pale Sphinx of the desert took great pride in his oasis, in it's deep blue waters and fine white sand, the likes of which could be found nowhere else. He took great satisfaction in the slender, graceful palms that ringed the nearly perfect circle of the cold, cerulean pool, in the plants that grew up thick and green in the spaces between, excepting the one section empty of growth. It was reminiscent of a gate, exactly opposite of the cave the sphinx guarded vigilantly. The sphinx, more than anything, was extremely prideful of the flowers that bloomed on the edges of the other greens, just barely separated from the undergrowth. When the heady scent of those flowers, of _his_ flowers, filled the air, he was filled with a feeling he couldn't hope to describe to anyone.

The Sphinx of the Oasis had never let anyone pass; no one had ever solved his riddles, and all had been devoured. He lazed in front of the cave everyday, gazing out over the desert from behind the lip of the water lapping at the pure sand as the sun tracked it's unhurried way through the harsh blue of the sky. Soon, the blue would become harsh in a different way, in a way that was all black after soft pastels. The sky would fill with shining stars, all just as harsh as the star called 'Sun'. The sphinxes knew that those stars were the same as the one in their sky, knew that they were very far away and that most no longer burned. The sphinxes of Egypt held in their ages-old eyes that terrible knowledge that those stars were long gone, the awful knowledge that they were receiving dead light. The sphinxes of Egypt knew many things, and revealed them only in words so cryptic they were impossible to understand.

The sun had dipped beneath the horizon by the time the Young Sphinx of the Palms was done with his contemplation. He had watched carelessly as the purples, reds, and blues slipped across the sky. He had seen the colors bleed into each other and darken, mellowing out into that dark, navy blue similar to an ocean far away. The sphinx had watched dead stars come into view, shedding their old and ageing light onto the ever-loose sands of the Egyptian deserts. He had seen the moon climb higher into the sky, big and round, casting it's bright white light onto the dunes and coloring them with silver.

The pale disk reflected off the cerulean pool, now inky in the darkness. Everything was alit with a different kind of light than that of the day; the colors of night were less harsh, less bright, less in nearly every sense of the word. The one thing that could not be said of the nighttime colors was that they were less beautiful, for they were not; beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a subjective word that differs to every individual, and in the eyes of the Sphinx of the Moon, the beauty of the day was far below the beauty of the night.

If the sphinx lazed in the day, he luxuriated in the night. The day was oppressive heat and blaring bright colors, while the night was something different. The night was the heat that faded from the loose sands, slowly and with all the time in the world until it could be considered genuinely cold. The night was the breeze racing cold and fast over the empty expanse of sand, kicking up dust and breaking apart on dunes. The night was the soft light of the moon and the harsh light of stars far away, living and long-dead. The night was the taste of serenity on his tongue and the sound of the night creatures skittering, chattering, chirping and calling. The night was all those things and so many more for the Sphinx of Dead Stars, so many things he'd never quite be able to put words to; for though he was so versed in crypticism and riddles, his tongue could not form the words he wanted to say about his oasis, about his desert during the reign of the moon.

The Sphinx of the Bright Soul spent that night as he would any other. He lay stretched out in a way that seemed so careless and open, his long, pale body taking up yards of bright white sand, nearly silver in the moonlight. His chin lay daintily on one of his forelimbs, his head off-set from the gate-like gap in the flora of his oasis. It didn't seem to be so at first glance, but he could see everything from where his head lay, crowned by a mane of wild white-blond hair that fit well with his feline body. It was long, and nearly messy enough to be tangled, but clean and obviously cared for. Had anyone else gazed upon his hair, it would be obvious that someone spent time on the pale locks.

As the Silver Sphinx of Egypt did every night, he lay upon his sand in front of his cave, gazing out over the desert sands and watching for the challengers who'd been long in coming. He barely expected any to come anymore, since the last had come so many years ago. Regardless, he'd been preparing riddles for those quiet decades, saving them in preparation for the next one to challenge him for treasure.

And as his long, moon-silvered tail whisked back and forth over the sand, dipping into the water occasionally and spreading crystalline drops of water across the sand and the ferns, the Sphinx of Long Silence saw a silhouette appear on the horizon.


	2. What are you afraid of?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seemed, after only the first riddle, that the promising stranger would fail like all the others. If only he had, life might have been easier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll only post once this week since I cheated and posted this early.
> 
> Also it's gon go from third to first person I think that was on purpose either way pretend it was something I did on purpose

He watched, almost sleepily, as the dark shape grew closer, resolved into a thin tan tunic being stirred gently by a breeze the sphinx could not feel. From there, he could see the figure's sandalled feet and cloth-wrapped head. He could smell the dried sweat on the man, the light tinge of the dark kohl lining the man's eyes. As the mysterious traveller grew closer, the sphinx could make out tanned arms, a reddened face above the white mask over his mouth, could now see the dark makeup around his eyes that took the glare out of the sun.

The silhouette turned into a sunburned man in a tan tunic, dark strands of hair escaping from the cloth on his head and falling around his dark brown, kohl-smudged eyes. His sandals no doubt had sand in them, likely irritating his feet. He was handsome from what the sphinx could see, and didn't look the type to go seeking one of his kind. The man came to a stop at the edge of the night-dark pool, and he stared at the sphinx, though whether in awe or fear was not yet clear. The man seemed unlikely to speak anytime soon, and the sphinx supposed he might as well speak first. After all, who could pass up the chance at conversation after so long with no one?

"What brings you to my oasis, man from beyond the sands?"

He startled at my voice, though he tried not to make it noticeable. He reached a hand up and pulled the mask from his face, showing the line between his sunburn and the skin on his cheeks and below. He quirked an eyebrow, ignoring the faint, barely there tremble in his hands, the tremble that wasn't audible in his voice when he spoke.

"And who told you I was visiting Egypt?"

He spoke with an accent that seemed not to match his face. I hadn't seen many Asians, though I was often told I looked more Asian than Egyptian, but this man was clearly Asian. And though I hadn't heard many Asians, I knew that he didn't have an accent like others did.

"The burn on your face and the softness of your feet tell me so. You tell me so, with your own words, and your accent tells me so. What have you come for?"

The man smiled, nodding to himself.

"So you really are as clever as they say. I've come on a quest for treasure."

I turned my head to face him and stared for moments.

"The closer one comes, the less I seem to be. The more desperate one is for me, the harder I am to find. What am I?"

The man seemed put off by the sudden riddle. His thin lips parted slightly as he thought, one fist clenched in front of his small mouth while the other hand clasped his fist. I felt my disappointment in the man growing as he thought, because that was the easiest of the three. I moved, pulling myself up onto my haunches. I was about ready to pounce when he dropped his hands and spoke.

"Mirages," came the quiet answer. He stared at me, almost defiant, as he waited for me to tell him he'd been wrong. I dipped my head.

"You may bathe if you wish. Many have told me my oasis has quite refreshing waters," I told the man. He dipped his head to me in deference and took the cloth from his hair, letting his dark brown hair out into the night air. I knew humans tended to like privacy, and I was feeling the slightest bit of mercy, so I closed my eyes until he was submerged in the water. When I opened them again, he was waist deep in the water.

"Do many people bathe in your oasis?"

I hummed lowly.

"Sometimes. I usually devour them for swimming without my permission," I replied, speaking softly into the still air. There was no breeze as the challenger dipped beneath the calm surface of the water.

"Do you have a name?"

Now that was an odd question, certainly never one I'd been asked before. I thought for a few moments, wondering which I should tell him.

"I have many names. Most are from other sphinxes, though sometimes they tell me of names the humans have given me for their stories. Many of them seem to like calling me the Pale Sphinx, or the Sphinx of the Moon. I quite like the Silver Sphinx of Egypt; that implies I'm well known across the land," I told the man in the dark water.

"You are quite famous. People say the only ones who escape you are those who leave without challenging you. But those aren't the kinds of names I mean."

"I don't recall having a name such as you humans do. It is not something sphinxes have," I told him. He looked at me curiously, standing in the middle of the moon's reflection.

"Then what do you call each other?"

"We don't," I said simply.

"That seems awfully lonely."

"Sphinxes are lonesome creatures. Not many like to have the company of others. You have asked my name, and after only a single riddle. What are you called in your home beyond the sands," I inquired of the man. He smelled much cleaner. He gave up a brief smile.

"Kevin Moon. Some call me Moon Hyungseo, which is my Korean name, but I usually go by Kevin."

"Is not Moon your name? It was present in both versions, should you not go by that part," I asked curiously. I had never learned any of the challengers' names.

"No. Moon is my family name. My last name. Depending on where you live, your family name is either in the front or at the end."

"That seems complicated, Kevin Moon."

"It is."

With that, he stretched, and I gave him another riddle.

"The answer is always known to me, yet I always will the answer not be found. I possess the power to dare those who cross me. I impart my wisdom only upon the worthy, and I keep my silence with all others. What am I?"

And I could see the exact moment he knew the answer as he was stepping back into those sand-riddled slippers, having already pulled the tunic back on. He turned his gaze to me, and his eyes seemed to sparkle with something akin to amusement.

"The answer to that would be a sphinx. Am I worthy, O' Silver Sphinx of Egypt? Would you impart your wisdom to me?"

Something about this challenger was strange. Something about the lack of fear, the strange confidence in his answers. Most answers were stuttered, and the few times they'd ever been confident, they'd been wrong. But Kevin Moon from beyond the sands had passed two riddles, confident and completely correct both times.

"You seem worthy so far. You are, in fact, the only challenger to solve any of my riddles. As such, I will give you an offer I may never give to any other. Kevin Moon, you may take this opportunity to leave with your life and all your limbs intact, and consider that a treasure worth accepting," I told the man. He shook his head.

"I've gotten this far. I may as well go for the gold," he said with a smile that could only be described as cocky. "You know, I don't particularly care about the treasure you've got in that cave. To me, an acceptable treasure would be a contract between the two of us."

"A contract? Why would you want that," I asked, a layer of menace buried under the surface. I wondered whether he caught onto it.

"Oh, many reasons. For one thing, we generally won't be allowed to kill each other, which is mutually beneficial, and for another thing," and here he paused, smiling at me wickedly. A sudden gust blew in from behind him, blowing about his dark hair and my white-blond hair, two contrasts against the colors of the night. On the wind, I smelled the scent of him, tinged with kohl and something tangy, almost acidic. _Magic._ "There's a curse I've been dying to try on something. After all, pain is an area of great interest to me."

The look I gave the man was nothing short of utter disdain. That he'd try to intimidate me in such a way was unfathomable. At some point, I'd settled down onto the ground, in a position I assumed looked to be very relaxed. I drew myself up and let my tail lash.

"I died long ago, and never was buried. Those around me would no longer consider me alive, and yet those distant from me think I am still living. What am I?"

And here, the witch seemed stuck. His eyes widened, just a bit, and he chewed on his lip. He started pacing, and he wrung his hand through his hair, biting at the nails of the other. And he couldn't think of the answer, not until I lunged at him and bowled him over into the sand. As I stood up on my hind legs, ready to swipe at him, his eyes went past me and up to the sky, and they got big. The stars reflected in his eyes, and so was his answer.

"Stars, the answer is a star!"

And I had never been so upset in my life. Because he was right, and now this man would do something terrible to me. He hadn't even come for the treasure in the cave. Before I could think, he said a long string of syllables in a language I didn't understand, but one I recognized as the language of magic. And there was a burning pain over my heart, and the man in the sand below me winced, and suddenly I felt this pull towards him, and I hated it.

He smiled at me cruelly as he sat up and put a hand on my forearm, and a crawling sensation was soon travelling under my skin. I stumbled back, confused at what the sudden dryness in my throat was. I tried to swallow, and pain shot through me. I took a drink from the dark water of the oasis, and again pain stabbed through my throat. I whimpered, and I turned on the witch where he was laying in the sand. He had mentioned not being able to kill each other in the contract, and as I thought of that a twinge of pain flared up over my chest. I wondered if hurting him was part of that, and when there was no pain I knew I was allowed to do that.

So I hurt him. One moment he was lying in the sand, laughing, and the next, there were four deep scratches over his throat and the right side of his chest. He let out a pained cry, and suddenly he was gone. I felt the pull in my chest stretch out, and I realized he was very far away now. He'd used his magic to run from what he'd done, and even more so now than I had before, I hated Kevin Moon.


	3. How much more do I have to go?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a strange way, he wished to be left alone and to be found again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been so inconsistent in updating but I've been busy and all that jazz so hi.

As days passed, full of silence and agony and roiling fury, I lay on the fine sand. I was thirsty, but drinking would not quench my thirst, and in fact would only bring me pain. When I tried to drink, it felt that some sphinx was dragging sharp, dirty claws down my throat, shredding it from the inside out. When I ignored the thirst, my head pounded with terrible headaches. My throat felt to be coated in sand, coarse and unrefined, scratching at my insides and demanding to be washed away. But it was impossible to do. 

No one came, and I was left to suffer on my own. I'd never minded the solitude or the silence before. Now, I just wanted someone else to share my pain with, someone who could tell me it'd go away and that I'd be fine soon. This was the first time in my life that I was wishing for the presence and comfort of another, and the rage churning in my gut evolved into sharp, pointed hatred for a witch who was too clever and too cruel. 

As days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, my mind devolved into chaos. Things I'd never concerned myself with, things like rage and pain and all those other human emotions, bubbled up and swirled together, and I spent many days screaming into the wind, wondering what could possibly be happening to me. I whipped from one emotion to the next, each one vivid and painfully strong, all the while languishing in the heat of the Egyptian sun and in the thirst I could not rid myself of. 

I didn't understand what I was feeling or why for a long time, and it took me even longer to figure out how to process these emotions. The first time I changed into a nearly pure human, with only the tail of a white lion on my lower back and my dark green eyes to show I wasn't truly human, I wailed my pain into the night. My cry was high and piercing, and the next day, as I huddled in the gaping mouth of the cave to escape that sun I could no longer bear, a sphinx strolled into my oasis. She called out for me and lowered herself onto my fine white sand in front of the cave. She gazed at me with her blue eyes, the same harsh blue as the sky, seemingly baffled at my appearance. 

"You bear a striking resemblance to the Sphinx of the Oasis, who lives here. You do not happen to be him, do you?"

I shivered and nodded. 

"I am. He is- I- we are one and the same," I stuttered out. And she gasped, for I was never at a loss for words, I had never once hesitated about what to say. 

"What has happened to you?"

Her voice was incredulous, as if she could not believe that I had been reduced to a tiny, shivering mess like this, curled up on the floor of the cave I once guarded. I tried to speak and coughed, my dry throat scratching upon itself painfully, so painfully. 

"A witch. I didn't smell the magic on him at first, I thought he was just a mortal. He knew all the answers, even the one about the stars. The humans don't know about the stars yet, and he knew. He bound me with a contract and cursed me. I haven't been able to drink without feeling pain, so much pain, but I'm so thirsty. I can't take it. I feel so human, there are so many human things screaming in my head, and I can't begin to fathom how to make it stop. I don't know what I am anymore," I sobbed. Though my throat was dry as the desert I'd lived in my whole life, my tears seemed to have no problem falling from my eyes. The other sphinx didn't know what to do, or she didn't care to do it. She left, and I was alone again, alone with my terrifying humanity.

As years passed, I figured out how to go back and forth. I stayed human mostly, because there was more of me to be in pain as a sphinx than as a human. I grew taller, and I was forced by the pain in my stomach to eat the coconuts from the palms. I grew taller, until I was thin and lanky, more bone than muscle. 

I grew to hate coconuts, and I wished someone would come and challenge me so I could eat something else for the first time in over a decade. Strangely enough, the coconut milk didn't pain me so badly as the water did, but that small consolation was overshadowed by my utter loathing of the seeds by the third year of exclusively eating them. And stranger than my aversion to the furry seeds was the feelings that came with thinking of eating other people. Before I ever met Kevin Moon, the prospect of feeding upon humans had never given me any pause; now, the thought nauseated me to the point that I had to go eat a few coconuts to get my mind off the grisly images that flashed through my mind. 

That night was eerily similar to one exactly ten years past. I lounged on the sand in the form of the sphinx, trying hard to ignore the dryness in my throat as I rested my head upon my foreleg. I stared out over the dark expanse of sand, silvered in the light of a full moon. The water was pitch black and reflected the perfect image of the moon, holding the pale disk like a mirror to the world of the dead. 

And, like that terrible night so many years ago, a silhouette appeared on the horizon.


	4. I know this sounds typical, but I'm different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Humans are strange; Chanhee learns this first-hand. He also learns that not all witches are like Kevin Moon, and he comes to find that some people are worth more than a flawed evaluation--some people deserve to be given a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHANGMIN

Much to the sphinx's chagrin, it was another witch. This one had longer hair than the last had, grown down his neck and hanging partially in his eyes. It was stringy with sweat in places, and this witch wasn't sunburned, though the kohl around his eyes was smeared as Kevin's had been. This witch was about the same height the last was, though his neck was longer and he wasn't wearing anything over his hair. His eyes were darker, and his smile was kinder. Yet despite the fact that the sphinx felt no threat from this witch, he held onto his hatred of Kevin and projected it onto this man. 

"I was told a very famous sphinx lived here," the witch stated, curiosity tingeing his words. 

"You're about ten years too late to meet the sphinx you've been told about," I spat bitterly, staying slumped over on the ground. The witch raised his brow. 

"Are you not the Silver Sphinx of Egypt," he asked. I shook my head. 

"Once, perhaps I could have told you yes. But now, I am nothing close to that. I haven't been since the last man who came to challenge me," I said, sounding strangely sad to my own ears. 

"Perhaps I could challenge you for your treasure. Do you think you'd be able to give me riddles as you once did? You are so famous for your riddles," the witch said. I scoffed. 

"You can just take it. The last time I let someone challenge me, he twisted the meaning of the word and ruined me utterly. I do not care to be tricked again," I told the witch, venom in my voice. I pushed myself up onto my haunches, as I had once done when I faced Kevin in place of this man. The witch watched me, and his eyes caught on my chest. They widened, and he covered his mouth in horror. 

"You've been… who bound you with such a contract," the witch asked. I was confused at everything his voice held as he asked the question. I heard horror, and outrage, and sadness and pity and indignation and so many other things I couldn't begin to decipher. I huffed. 

"The last person to challenge me visited a decade ago. He was a witch, and he considered a contract with me the treasure he was challenging me for. He tricked me, and he answered all the riddles correctly, so he got what he wanted. And he did something to me. I cannot quench my thirst without feeling immense pain, and I am always thirsty," I said. I stood and walked over to him, shifting into my human form when I stood next to him. I found we were the same height. "If you are here to challenge me, do it for the treasure in that cave. And so help me god, if you answer them all correctly I'll wander the desert until I perish. I cannot eat another fucking coconut."

His eyes widened multiple times throughout my speech, for different reasons every time. His brows were furrowed by the end. 

"A witch challenged and tricked you, bound you to him with a contract, and cursed you with Eternal Thirst? And, coconuts?"

He sounded absolutely baffled. I growled low in my throat, and then proceeded to break out in a fit of hacking coughs. The witch patted my back, and I shoved his hand away, glaring even as tears streamed from my eyes. 

"Do not presume to touch me, witch. If you are here for treasure, then go and take it. If not, then just- go do something else! Bathe in the damn water, pick the flowers, eat the fucking coconuts, I don't give a shit, just-" I broke out coughing again. The witch waited until I had stopped coughing, until I was sitting on the white sand with my bare, white legs stretched out in front of me. He crouched down next to me and held out a hand, palm up. 

"I don't intend to harm you. I came here because I'd heard many things about your riddles, about how no one had ever come back alive when they left in search of your treasure. I thought maybe I'd be able to figure them out, and that you'd talk with me if I left your treasure here for the next person. You are known even where I come from, all the way in Korea, and people always talk about how wise and intelligent the sphinxes of Egypt are. I wanted to see for myself," the witch said. I stared at him as he talked, looked right in his dark eyes. With his face in shadows, they looked black, but there was still an undeniable warmth in them. I sighed and took his hand, pulling him to sit on the sand beside me. I didn't let go of his hand. 

"What is your name," I asked quietly, shyly, nervously. Was this how you talked to people? He gave a gentle, if not surprised, smile.

"My name is Ji Changmin. Do you have a name," he asked. And I responded, "Choi Chanhee," without a second thought. And I paused, confused by the three syllable name that had passed my lips. I felt the tug of the scar over my chest, and I blinked. 

"Huh, that's new. He must have forced a name on me," I muttered quietly. 

"Who," Changmin asked. And again, I answered without a single thought. 

"Kevin Moon, the bastard."

Changmin gasped, and I looked at him. He was covering his mouth again. 

"Now your curse makes sense! It was Kevin?! That- that-"

"He didn't get off easily. I gave him a few scars to remember me by," I said, a smug smile dancing upon my lips. And that was another new thing. Smiles. Smugness. Ji Changmin laughed, and I cracked a smaller smile. I noticed a little indention in his cheek as he laughed. I poked it, and he faltered in his laughter. 

"What is this," I asked curiously. His face became more red. 

"A dimple. Technically, it's caused when the muscles in your face catch on each other. Something like that," he said. I brushed my finger over the redness on his cheeks and his ear. 

"And this?"

"That's a-a blush. It happens when blood rushes into your face," Changmin explained nervously. I hummed. 

"Why does this happen?"

I had never seen this before. It intrigued me to find something I didn't know about. 

"W-well, there are a few different reasons for it. It can happen when you're embarrassed, or when you feel flattered."

"And why are you blushing?"

"I- I guess it's mostly that- well, you're very pretty, and you're naked- but I've been ignoring that! And- and you touched my dimple and it caught me off guard, and then I just- it was just how my body reacted."

"Humans are strange."

And they were. How could some of them be so scared by me, feel so threatened, while others were fearless? How could some come to me with the intention to trick and lie while others came only to talk and learn? How could they all be so different from one another?


	5. I have more to show you, more new things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was more than Chanhee ever expected out of anyone. 
> 
> He was ready to leave, but he wanted to be leaving with Changmin, if possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S ALMOST THE END ALSO I KEEP FORGETTING TO MENTION IT BUT I'M NOT SICK ANYMORE LMAO

Changmin left and came back a few days later with a backpack full of clothes, food, and drinks. He said the trip was faster this time because he both knew the way and used magic, though he didn't specify in what terms he used it. He gave me the backpack and said it was all for me, and I told him that as long as he was here he could share the things with me on the condition that he ate at least one coconut a day. 

Changmin didn't leave after a few days. He didn't leave after a few weeks, and he went back to the nearest town to buy more food and drinks every second week. We had found through trial and error that it was least painful to drink fruit juices. He explained to me what I was; a hybrid, a very rare one at that for the simple virtue of the fact that no one had ever dared to curse one of my kind. He sometimes called me 'New', since so many human things were still new to me, and for what I'd said when I first told him the name given to me without my knowledge. 

"You know, New, I could break that contract for you. The one that binds you to him. But…" he trailed off, looking away from me and gazing out at the world outside the cave. We spent a lot of time there, since it was cooler in there than outside. 

"But," I asked curiously. I wondered desperately what he'd say. He looked at me, determination sharpening his eyes. 

"Live with me for a year if I break it. You can leave after that, just… I want you to experience a proper house. I want you to experience being properly cared for. I know that your kind doesn't need to be cared for, but I want you to know what it feels like."

I didn't answer straight away. Instead, I stood up and wandered farther back into the cave, into the cooler air farther below. I felt Changmin's eyes on me until I was out of sight, and still I walked. I kept going until I was in the chamber that held the treasure I'd been born to guard, so many centuries ago I'd lost count. Among sphinxes, I was young, yet according to the standards of the humans, I was ancient. 

I sifted through the pile of gold and jewels, mindlessly thinking about Changmin. His kind smile, the one dimple in his cheek, his dark, dark brown eyes that held so much warmth. I thought about his attempts to find what was easiest for me to drink, about the clothes I'd gotten from him and the blessed gift of food that was not a fucking coconut; about how he'd held true to the half-joking demand that he eat at least one coconut every day. About how he rubbed my back when I coughed and how he held me tight at night, keeping the both of us warm. I thought about how Ji Changmin was so unlike Kevin Moon whom I hated, about how Changmin was, in my mind, the perfect example of how a person in general should act. 

I pulled a golden circlet from the pile, the one that was delicate and elegant, the one I thought would look lovely nestled among Changmin's dark brown locks. I walked back up to where Changmin was still waiting for me, hiding the simple crown behind my back until I was right in front of him. I simply stared down at him for a few moments, at his legs crossed in front of him and his hands holding his ankles. He stared back up at me, his brows furrowing when I spoke. 

"It once was my duty to guard riches buried deep, yet no longer does it please me. I once told riddles to all who crossed me, and none escaped my wrath. I once was a creature of legend, to be whispered about in awe, yet now I am fallen far and tarnished by a single man. I once knew nothing of humans or their emotions, yet I now feel an over-abundance of them. I once knew nothing of Ji Changmin, who is the perfect example of all humanity should be, yet now I could not fathom a world where he was not alive. What is the name of the one who is and has known all of these things?"

Changmin stared at me, his mouth open slightly, seemingly in awe of his first riddle from me. I frowned a bit. 

"So help me god, Ji Changmin, if you fail this I'll kill you," I muttered beneath my breath. And he smiled amusedly, and it brought a smile to my own face. 

"Choi Chanhee is the one who is and has known all those things," he whispered, in a tone that could almost be considered reverence. I smiled, and nodded. 

"Who is the great adversary of the Silver Sphinx of Egypt, that most discussed riddle teller in all the land?"

"Kevin Moon. Is that actually a riddle, Chanhee?"

"The term riddle is relative and easily reinterpreted. Let me riddle you," I said, reaching a hand out and flicking his forehead. I put it back behind me and cleared my throat. 

"Why is one of my names 'the Sphinx of the Moon'?"

"For one, your love of the moon and the night is so intense, some would say it shines brighter than the sun itself. Your fur is white as the great disk in the sky, and just as beautiful. And, you are the only sphinx hybrid in the world, cursed by Kevin Moon, bane of peace and sanity. You thirst for the opportunity to kill him, to wreak your vengeance on him for what he put upon you. You are the Sphinx of the Moon for all those reasons," Changmin said confidently. I smiled, even wider this time than the last time, and I nodded. I finally brought the circlet out, letting him look at the simple ring of braided gold before placing it upon his head. 

"You have earned the right to the treasure of the Pale Sphinx, the Young Sphinx of the Palms, of the Oasis, of the Moon and Dead Stars, of the Bright Soul and Long Silence. You have done what only one other has done, by answering the three riddles of the Silver Sphinx of Egypt and earning his treasure," I announced into the still air of the cave. Changmin was just staring at me, and I was just standing there with my fingers resting in his hair, letting his gaze up at me. Neither of us could see clearly through our too-long bangs, and we needed haircuts. But neither of us could seem to care as I let Changmin pull me down into his lap. I couldn't find it in me to care how long my hair was or how badly it needed to be cut as Changmin pressed a gentle kiss to my lips; this was something else that was new, and it was something I decided I liked very much.


	6. it's a paradise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After suffering for so long, after feeling so much regret over his situation, Chanhee was finally free. Even better was the fact that he was absolutely, completely in love, and no one was stopping him from pursuing the man in his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sad to end this, but I'm excited for the kevin/hwall!! I had fun posting this and reading everyone's comments!! Thank you to everyone who read, kudosed, and commented!! And thank you especially to Tetchin, who's comments made my day every time, and to El, my wonderful friend, who supports me in everything!! I love all of you!! 💖💕💝💝💖💞❤💝💗💕💗💖❤💗💕💗💝💞💗💗💘💘💗💞💗💖💗💝💕💗❤💗

Changmin was thoroughly surprised by the sheer amount of wealth in the cavern by the time we made it down there. I agreed to live with him in exchange for breaking the contract between Kevin and I, though I put no time constraints on it. I didn't intend to stop living with him after a year, so what was the point in putting a limit to it?

Soon after Changmin had packed away the immense pile of gold and jewels into a pocket of some kind, which he explained could hold as much as he needed it to without weighing anymore than it had before he put new things into it. It baffled me to say the least, and it also made me think that witches really were extraordinary; when they were being decent people, that is. 

The journey back to Changmin's home was a long one, but one that I enjoyed. My oasis had been beautiful, had been my home for ages upon ages, had been my prison for over a decade. I had never left it, had never been outside my little corner of Egypt. I had never seen a forest, never seen an ocean or a river or a plain. There were so many animals I'd never seen, never heard of. Changmin taught me about everything I didn't understand, explained every new thing I stumbled upon in the journey towards his house in Korea. 

When we weren't talking about my new discoveries, we were talking about ourselves, asking each other things we hadn't asked about before. He told me that what he did most with his magic involved bindings and contracts. He crafted and broke both for people who were too scared or unable to do so on their own. When I asked what the difference in them was, he said it was that bindings bound people to objects and contracts bound people to other people, or to supernatural beings such as demons. It was very interesting to me, that witches had different strengths with certain types of magic. I told Changmin about my newfound aversion to devouring people, which had only come around after I'd been cursed. 

When we arrived in Korea, there was no fanfare. No welcome party to welcome him home from his long journey, no one to congratulate him on surviving the most famous sphinx in Egypt and coming back with its treasure. There was no one to see us walk into the cozy little house, the dark-haired witch crowned in gold and the white-haired hybrid with only a lion's tail to show for it. 

No one, least of all me, would have expected that I'd end up in Korea, living with a man I'd never have thought to meet. And certainly, even if anyone had expected it, no one would have been able to predict the witch's unbelievably high scream, nor the fact that he could talk in that same, dolphin-esque pitch when the mood struck him.

**Author's Note:**

> [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.me/catfacekathryn)
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/catfacekathryn?s=09)
> 
> Come talk to me!! I'm extra nice rn since I'm kinda sick lol


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